Heart of Ice and Eyes of Fire
by Living-the-Fantasy
Summary: Lellia is a 654 year old half fire half dragon demon princess from Ancient Egypt. When her father decides to travel to Japan to claim new territory, Lellia must accompany him. There Lellia meets a cold hearted InuYoukai, Lord Sesshoumaru.
1. Betrayed Emotions

**Name:** Lellia

**Age:** 654

**Race:** Fire/Dragon Demon

**Family**: Father Kais(Kice); Sister Phemja (_Fehm_-yah)

**Homeland:** Ancient Egypt

**Rank:** High Lord's first daughter

**Story:** "Heart of Ice and Eyes of Fire"

**_Chapter:_** Betrayed Emotions

Lellia looked back at the palace she had lived in for years upon years. Her childhood was here. Her memories were here. Her _life_ was here.

If Lellia had a choice, she would rule from here while her sister, Phemja, sailed to the lands far to the east.

But no, her father, Lord Kais of the Fire Demons, was said to have decided this weeks ago. His eldest daughter and he would travel to the land called Japan to claim territory for their clan.

Damn him to the very depths of hell! Lellia's thoughts were directed to her childish father, whom she had despised since the day her mother had died. He didn't even try... Lellia cut her thoughts off as she felt a welling of emotion deep within her person.

Lellia's mother, Queen Tora Yjembrai (_Yehm_-brai) of the Great Dragons, had died from a curse inflicted upon her by a palace priest. The priest had never seen Queen Tora in her full fledged dragon form, and when war rose from the south, the queen had need to call upon her birthright as a dragon demon. When she transformed the palace priest panicked and, thinking the queen to be an enemy ally, cast a curse upon the Great Dragon. Though Lellia's mother won the war against their southern enemies, she fell ill and died within the next 24 hours.

After her mother's death, Lellia blamed her father for even having such a priest in their palace. She then carried out the priest's execution herself. Because of this trauma in her young age (Lellia was only 17 when this happened), Lellia was cold and ruthless for the next 637 years.

Lellia ran her hand through her blood red hair as she sighed. A sigh was the most emotion anyone could get out of the young royalty, besides her spells of fury. Her crimson eyes scanned the land from atop the white horse she sat astride. She buried her fingers in its bright orange mane as she closed her eyes and turned her horse away from her childhood home. She tapped the beast's snow white sides lightly with sandaled feet. The leather strips that wound themselves around her legs kept the royal sandals on her feet.

The horse moved in a fast trot until she had made her way to the head of their traveling company. 600 horse-mounted soldiers, 300 charioteers, and another thousand foot soldiers accompanied the Lord and his daughter.

Lellia glared at each row of soldiers as she passed them. True, they were the elite of all their fighting forces, but she knew she could defeat the whole army if she wished. Her father would bow to her if she cared to gain control of the empire. But Lellia did not want an empire. She wanted the Palace. Hidden from the eyes of the humans, the Lotus Palace was paradise in a desert land. The river Nile ran past in splendor and provided clean drinking water. Because the entire nation was of fire demon race, the desert heat did not bother them one bit.

As Lellia's eyes scanned over their company, she noticed an odd disruption near the center of the company.

"Halt!" The demoness's voice rang out over the sands of the desert. Though it was not needed, for her glare directed towards the disturbance was enough to chill the soldiers to a stop. Though the company had blood of fire, most of the them shivered noticeably under her stare.

As Lellia turned her horse toward the disturbance, the company parted for her and she urged her horse into a walk. As she passed the soldiers, they bowed their heads in respect and fear for their superior.

When Lellia reached the middle of the company, she saw a bay mare with a dark orange mane and tail waiting patiently while her master reloaded his packs on her back. Lellia stopped her horse a few feet away from the mare. The soldier had apparently not noticed that he had a visitor.

Lellia's face hardened. How dare a lower soldier ignore everything around him! Especially the High Lord's daughter. Lellia dismounted her horse, her thin, silk skirt flowing gracefully around her legs as she swung down. She walked quietly towards the soldier. She let her emotions relax into nothing as she placed her hand on the mare's neck. She kept her hand on the horse as she walked around the horse's head.

The soldier was looking through one of his packs when Lellia came to the horse's opposite side.

"This is a beautiful mare." Lellia said quietly. The soldier's head shot up and his pack dropped to the ground. He dropped to his knees and, placing his palms and forehead on the sand, knelt to Lellia. After doing so he lifted his head enough to say, "You flatter me, O Sovereign one."

The soldier's words were meant to butter up Lellia, but her face hardened into an unsettling glare. "My obsequious words were not for you, foolish soldier, but for your horse that deserves a better master than you." Her words were ice to the soldier and he trembled under her fierce glare. "Why are you holding up our company? Rise and speak!"

As the soldier rose, his shoulders slumped in defeat and fear. "My Lady, your servant was merely trying to fix a mistake made in the loading of the packs." The soldier's torso bent foreword in a short bow after his explanation. If possible, Lellia's face hardened all the more.

"Gather you items and head back to the Palace. There is no room for freeloaders in my company." Lellia's words were cold and heartless. The soldier squeezed his eyes shut and bowed before turning around to pick up his fallen pack.

As he placed the pack on the mare's back, a sharp command from Lellia stopped him. "What do you think you are doing?" The soldier kept his eyes low as he answered her. "Preparing my horse for the travel back to the Palace, my Lady."

"No."

"No, my Lady?"

"No. This horse is to stay. As I said before, she deserves a better master. Kyumi!" Lellia beckoned for her father's right-hand-man, Kyumi Nahle (_Q_-me _Nail_). Kyumi, after bowing to Lord Kais (who looked oddly at his daughter) rode over to Lellia. His body bounced slightly on the small gelding and he winced. The gelding was wild and had no rhythm.

"Kyumi, trade horses with this ignorant soldier. I trust you will take more care of this beautiful mare than he has." As Lellia finished, Kyumi dismounted the gelding and removed the royal saddle from its back. As soon as the trade was finished, Lellia sent the soldier back to the Palace.

Lellia trotted out to the side of the company. She nodded to the soldiers and the company returned to its old routine. Lellia urged her horse into a canter. She passed row after row of soldiers until she caught up with her father.

Lord Kais smiled at his daughter. His red hair was short cropped as was his red beard and mustache. He was handsome. His eyes were a light brown and his face kind. His clothing showed his royalty as did the ebony stallion he rode.

In Lellia's eyes, her father was much too kind for his own good. Though his people loved him, they were attacked often as enemies saw his kindness as his main weakness. Lellia was trying to change their countries fortunes by being as ruthless and cruel in was as was demonly possible. Though enemies had backed off the wars caused by her father's weakness, they now attacked hoping to take Lellia as a captive back to their own empires.

Lellia looked ahead and urged her horse into gallop. When she looked behind, she saw her father had urged the entire company into a gallop to keep up with his untamed daughter. Lellia smirked. She could tell it was going to be fun keeping the soldiers in check- well, fun for her.


	2. Among the Waves

**_Sorry it's shorter than the first, I was short on time..._**

****

**_Chapter 2_**: Among the Waves

Lellia looked out over the ocean waters. Days had flashed by as Lellia, her father, and their soldiers had sailed out over the ocean in Lord Kais's royal fleet of ships. Lellia had joined her father in his lead ship. It would only be a few days before they reached Japan.

The journey had been quiet so far. The soldiers were to afraid to approach the female royal as she stared out among the waves.

Lellia turned her head as the sound of footsteps approached her. A young messenger stood in front of her, visibly trembling.

"What is it?" Lellia asked, softer that usual. The boy could be no more that twelve.

"The Lord wishes to-" the boy swallowed; apparently fear had clogged his throat. "to s-see you in his ch-chambers."

Lellia looked down at the youth. She reached down and grabbed the young boy's hand. He closed his eyes, dreading what might come next. She reached inside her sash and produced a gold coin; she placed the coin in the boy's hand. The messanger's eyes popped open and stared at the royalty.

"Thank you." Lellia said as she rose. She made her way past the boy, who still looked up at her with admiration and shock written all over his face.

Lellia did not wonder why she had been so kind to that boy. Trauma should not be present in a young child's life; she knew this from personal experience.

The female royalty breathed deep before entering her father's chambers, wiping all emotion from her being. She found no need to knock and entered without any introduction. The priests and advisors around Lord Kais's desk shuffled away as Lellia approached him. The fire Lord looked up from a map he was reading and greeted his daughter with a smile.

"Ah, Lellia! Just in time." Kais motioned to his advisors and priests. "Leave us." The servants bowed and exited the room. "Daughter, come look at these maps." Lellia moved forward towards the desk.

"What about them?" Lellia asked coldly, wondering why her father had called for her just to look at maps.

"These maps show the lands of Japan. I want you to decide which land we shall conquer. This map shows elevation." Kais handed Lellia a map. "This one shows climate, this one shows soil fertility, and this last one illustrates who, at this moment, rules the lands."

Lellia looked down at the four maps her father had produced. She looked closely at the last map, showing ownership. The Northern lands were ruled by Wolf tribes, the Eastern lands ruled by the Bird demons, and the Southern lands were ruled by Cat Demons. But the last illustration was unfamiliar to her.

"Father, who rules the Western lands? I do not recognize this picture." Lord Kais looked down at the map.

"Ah, the Dog demons rule that. They are very powerful indeed! Do you wish to conquer them?"

Lellia shook her head. "No, the elevation is too rugged and the climate too cool for our tribe." Lellia placed a clawed finger on the map. "I think our best chance would be to conquer the Cat demons. The climate and soil are just right for us."

Lord Kais nodded. "Good choice. I think you are correct. We are too far north at the moment though. We will have to travel on land for a while if we are to conquer them."

"Too far north? Will we be landing in the Western lands?"

"Yes, we were off on our course a bit. We cannot sail down south, the currents are too rough down there this time of year."

Lellia nodded once to her father's response. "I will send word to the generals that our decision has been finalized."

Kais smiled. "You read my mind." Lellia bowed slightly to her father and exited the room.


	3. Not Yet Homesick

The last time I posted this chapter, something weird happened and _all _the chapters were combined into the third chapter. I really got to pay attention more often!

**_Chapter 3:_** Not Yet Homesick.

Lellia looked out over the forest covered land in disgust. After living for her whole life on a bare land with very few trees or any plant life for that matter, the tall trees were strange to the female.

Lellia jumped down from the bow of the ship and up next to the main mast. She quickly scaled the wood and reached the top in record time.

The demoness stood atop the ship, looking out over a sea of dark green. The Western Lands were covered in it. Lellia's dragon eyes saw a large stone building in the distance, probably one of those constructions called a 'castle.'

"Lellia!" The female looked down towards her father who waved up at her. Lellia rolled her eyes and sighed silently. A jump backwards, a few show-offy flips, and one heck of a landing later, Lellia joined her father on the deck.

"Father?" Lellia looked up at Lord Kais as he smiled down at her. _Damn that smile._

"Ready to go on land?" He asked, turning his smile into a smirk.

Lellia raised an eyebrow. "Are you?" Kais chuckle came deep from his chest as the reply came from his daughter. He nodded.

Lellia ran towards the bow of the ship, her father soon appearing at her side. Both jumped from the bow and landed brilliantly on the shore, though Lellia was a bit more graceful.

The sand beneath Lellia's sandals felt rough and crunchy. The sand back home was much softer and smoother than that of Japan.

Lellia kept her face emotionless, but deep inside she was very disappointed and angry. She would have much rather stayed in Egypt and let Phemja come with their father.

She also thought that the lands of Japan would have been much more splendorous than this. The air was bleak and the forests gave the look of foreboding. The water was dark and the land looked so bland. Her father had said the land was much nice than this.

Kais seemed to notice his daughter's mood and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, it is a stormy day today. We are lucky that we landed before we got caught in the storm."

Lellia nodded, but she knew that the land would always seem bleak as long as she was away from Egypt.

Lellia had to wait on the side while the soldiers unloaded the cargo. Before long, she became bored and was left to merely stroke her stallion's muzzle. The voyage had not been as kind to the horses as it had been to the fire demons. The fire horses may have had a very strong will, but the sea was unfamiliar territory to them and the rocking of the boat was not kind to their legs or their stomachs.

Lellia's stallion, Creperum, was one of the few that were able to stand without shaking, though the poor horse looked thin and malnourished. Sea sickness had struck the fire horses hard.

The fog that covered the shore and the sea made Lellia's clothes damp and clingy. She was glad she had grabbed a cloak to cover herself. She knew that the perverted males of the company would look at her lustfully if she did not.

Lellia shuddered inwardly. She wrapped the folds of the cloak closer around her front. The thick material kept her warm in the frigid air as she stayed close to her beloved Creperum. He was the only creature that had ever received affection from the cold hearted demoness besided the woman's mother. Creperum knew this and was extremely grateful to the Horse Lords (gods of horses) for granting him a good chance with Lellia.

Lellia mounted the stallion and urged him over to her father, who already sat astride a gelding. Lord Kais never rode a horse for more than a week, and this week was no different.

The Fire Lord had gathered a small company of twenty-five soldiers around him. He waved his daughter toward him as Lellia approached. "Lellia! We are riding towards the Southern Lands to investigate. We need to know how well this land will be for the fire demons. You will come with us, yes?"

Lellia looked down at the soldiers. "Will they be riding or running?" Lellia raised her eyebrow. It would be so much fun for her just to watch them try to keep up with her. She was disappointed when her father shook his head.

"No, we are just waiting for the horses to be sorted out. Shouldn't take more than a few moments more."

Lellia nodded curtly. "I shall accompany you, Father."

Half an hour later and the small company rode out into the forest. Lellia did not feel safe under the canopy of trees. The sky could only bee seen in patches. The trees surrouding them were shadowed and gave the feeling that anything could jump out at them at any given moment.

Within the folds of her cloak, Lellia gripped a long dagger in her hand. She was not sure what demons here were friendly and which were not. Not to mention the filthy _humans_.


	4. Amusing Obstacles

**_Chapter 4_**: Amusing Obstacles

Lellia frowned at the mud that had gathered on Creperum's hooves. It would take almost an hour to clean the mud if they kept up this pace, considering she never let anyone handle her beloved stallion besides herself.

Lord Kais's company had been traveling for almost an hour now. The ground was wet and muddy, the last remnants of very heavy precipitation. The horses that the soldiers were mounted on slipped often and were now almost encrusted in a thick mud coat.

Lellia's Creperum was the only horse that was not covered in mud. She was much older than any of the soldiers here. Years of experience had honed the skills of this war maiden. Her father was even having a hard time keeping his horse up, though he was only seventeen years older than she was.

Lellia despised that her mother had even thought to mate with a creature so inexperienced. The Great Lady Dragon did not even love the fire lord.

Queen Tora Yembrai had only mated with Kais because of her heat; her need had pushed her to mate with the closest male. Kais was only 17 and a prince at the time. When Lellia had been born, the Queen stayed only to protect her powerful daughter who would become Queen of the Dragons when it was Yembrai's time to travel to the endless paradise.

But the Queen had died in an unexpected turn of events that had not been planned by the Ancient Ones and Lellia was not crowned Queen, but another female dragon had taken the place. The young royalty was left to endure the life of a princess, one who was spoiled and protected by others and forbidden to even think of anything other than her studies.

Lellia had pushed away the easy life since the day she was born. Even when her mother had tried to spoil her, she pushed it away. The only gift she accepted was a sword that had been given to her by her mother on her seventeenth birthday. There were signs engraved on the sword, but they were only readable by those who had learned the Dragon Language. Lellia was meant to learn this special language and how to transform on her eighteenth birthday, but her mother had never made it to that day.

Lellia glared at the dense trees before her. Her mouth tightened and her eyes narrowed into thin slits as she remembered her past. If only that _damn_ priest hadn't ever come into the picture, Lellia would be soaring with the Great Dragons instead of being stuck with the weak mortal fire demons.

Lellia reached back to grab her hood. The fog had started to take effect on her hair. It was damp and stuck to the back of her neck. Lellia threw the hood over her face as well. She put her head down and closed her eyes.

Meditation was an important part in Lellia's life. Meditation clears the mind and helps control powers. Lellia meditated every single day to clear her head of all emotions and reel in her dangerous powers.

Because Lellia saw so many factors that triggered her anger, her fire burned hot and nearly escaped her grasp every time her emotions flared. The last time she lost control was the day of her mother's death…

Creperum's head shot back toward his mistress. Lellia grasped the mane of her stallion. She sighed silently and patted the horse's neck gratefully. Steam was rising from Lellia's skin. Creperum had known- Lellia's body temperature had risen dramatically.

"I almost lost control." Lellia whispered to Creperum. The stallions bobbed his head in agreement. He turned his neck and reached back to nibble his mistress's leg. He knew.

Creperum had noticed that since the announcement of the travel to the far lands, Lellia was having a harder time controlling her powers, her meditation usually ended in her rising temperature, and her fire had been hotter and more devastating than ever. Creperum had never seen his mistress like this before.

Suddenly a red blur appeared before Creperum. The fire stallion was frightened into a sudden frenzy. He reared onto his hind legs with Lellia hanging onto his mane as not to fall off. As Creperum's legs pawed the air, the other fire horses took to his fright and began to sidestep anxiously. A few more reared as Creperum did, including Lellia's father's mare.

Lellia tried almost fretfully to calm her large horse. As he lowered himself onto the ground, the princess rubbed his neck in calming strokes. The stallion calmed down, but still breathed heavy and the whites of his eyes showed.

With her cloak still wrapped around her face and body, Lellia looked up to locate what had caused her horse such distress. In front of the company stood a young boy. He looked no older than eighteen. His hair was snow white and his clothes consisted of a bright red kimono. His right hand gripped the handle of an aged sheathed sword. But what attracted Lellia's eyes most was the two ears atop his head. They were pure white and shaped like dog ears.

Lellia raised an eyebrow and smirked, though no one could see through the folds of her cloak. Even though Lellia's heart was almost entirely cold, she still thought that the ears were cute. _What female could resist those ears?_ Lellia laughed to herself.

The youth gripped the sword even harder and growled. Lellia saw the boy's fangs and her smirk widened.

"Who the hell are you?" The rude question was voiced by the boy. He began to pull the sword out of its sheath. Lellia nearly laughed out loud. What good would a rusty sword do against the fire demons?

"You are in no state to be questioning us, boy. Now step aside!" Lord Kais had regained his dignity and spoke as if he already ruled Japan.

Lellia raised an eyebrow at her father. He did not look over at her, but only at the boy before you. Lellia rolled her eyes and looked back down at the boy. He showed no fear, even in the face of a seemingly stronger opponent.

Lellia leaned forward on Creperum. "What is your name?"

The warriors around Lellia looked on in shock as the demoness spoke.

The boy in red looked shocked to hear a woman's voice come through the heavy cloth, but soon his alarm was replaced with a smirk.

"I'll give you mine if you give me yours." The grip on the rusty sword tightened and Lellia nearly grinned.

Looking up a bit more so that her red eyes shone through the shadow of her hood, Lellia answered the boy. "I am Princess Lellia of the Fire Demons." Lellia's eyes sparkled all the more as the young man's eyes narrowed in frustration. "Now I believe you owe me your name."

The boy scowled and released his grasp on his sword. "InuYasha."

"Now, that wasn't so hard, was it?"

"Hmph."

Lellia smirked. "What kind of demon are you, exactly?"

The boy scowled and turned away. "I told you my name, but that doesn't mean you gotta know my whole life's story, got it?"

"Well, judging from your ears, I would say that you are either a dog… or a cat demon."

The reaction was hilarious to the cold hearted woman. She nearly laughed out loud as InuYasha's eyes widened and his face reddened with anger.

"I ain't no damn _cat_!"


	5. Ruff' Road

**_Chapter 5_**: 'Ruff' Road

Many of the soldiers chuckled and Lellia's father had to bite his lip to stop himself from laughing.

"So you must be a dog. See? I didn't have to learn your whole life story just to figure that out." Lellia's voice was light and almost cheerful.

InuYasha growled at the young princess and turned away. Lellia nearly smiled.

"Are you one of the dog demons that rule this land, InuYasha?"

InuYasha's face darkened as he looked up at the princess. "No! Why the hell would I wanna be?"

As InuYasha turned away, Lellia sensed a reason for his hateful reaction. Perhaps he was thrown out of his clan. Odd, even for dog demons.

Lellia nodded. "Well, then you will let us pass? We do not touch you and you do not touch us. Is that reasonable?"

InuYasha scoffed and looked back over to the demoness. "Whatever." He jumped up into the tree cover and disappeared.

Lellia smirked to herself. "Let's keep moving." Her voice turned cold once again as she addressed the company. Throwing her hood back over her face, she urged Creperum into a gallop. The company behind her moved their horses to keep up with the Princess.

(Because I can't think of any fill in stuff, I'm going to skip ahead a few months. I'll just go over the general stuff. I don't want to bore you with the details.)

Lellia and Lord Kais did find where the Cat Demons resided, a castle in the center of the Southern Lands. In the spirit of fairness, Lord Kais, along with Lellia, tried to form a partnership with the Cat Demons' leader, Nakkone, but the old cat demon was too stubborn and refused. Lellia and Lord Kais left and ordered their army, who had now joined their small group, to attack the castle. The fire demons burned the castle to the ground. King Nakkone and a band of his followers escaped. Lellia, and only Lellia, knew that Nakkone had fled to the Eastern lands, but the princess felt it unnecessary to alert her father of this. Now the fire demons were working to create a palace for their leader and a large village for everyone else.

Lellia was riding through the forest surrounding the building area. The fire demons were quick workers and had easily built the entire village and half the palace in a time of a mere three months.

Though Lellia had told her father she would aid in the building of the palace, she had become disgusted by the actions of the lower ranking builders. They were crude and make comments about her feminine curves in loud voices whenever she was in the vicinity. In the past two weeks, the company of builders had lost a total of 23 workers because of Lellia's rage and disgust.

Lellia urged Creperum into a fast gallop through the forest. The wind blowing through her hair as trees passed by her vision quickly cleared the demoness's mind. After an hour at this pace, Creperum finally began to slow down. Though a fire horse's endurance was very high, the rough terrain of the land took a toll on the young horse.

Lellia sighed. She was sure that she was very close to the border of the Southern lands. The scents had changed and the terrain became even more rugged.

Listening to her surroundings, Lellia heard a small waterfall not far from them. Turning Creperum in the proper direction, Lellia headed toward a small pond. Dismounting Creperum and letting him drink from the fresh water source, Lellia stretched.

She was too far from the palace, but she really did not care. _Why should I care? I wish I could- no, I **will** return to Egypt. This is no home for fire demons. We were better off across the ocean!_ Lellia's angry thoughts turned once again to her father.

_**He had made Lellia come here.**_

Lellia clenched her fists.

_**He had forced her to fight.**_

Lellia allowed a snarl to escape her lips.

_**He had done everything to throw her life off its balance. **_

Lellia squeezed her eyes shut.

_**HE KILLED HER MOTHER!**!_

"You BASTARD!" Lellia let out the cry while bringing her hands up and opening her eyes. On impulse, she let out a surge of anger that escaped through her palms as a raging torrent of fire. It leapt toward the trees and burned them to ashes.

Lellia dropped her hands, which were now smoking profusely. She breathed heavily and closed her eyes as she tried to focus once again.

However, her eyes burst open once again when she heard an unfamiliar voice.

"Extraordinary power... for an onna."


	6. And So It Begins

Lellia's eyes popped open at the voice. Whipping her head around, Lellia looked for the source of the deep tone. She found him only a few yards away from her, standing at the edge of the pond.

His hair flowed down his back in silver waves. Strange armor was placed over his chest and white clothing. Lellia noticed red flower patterns decorating his garb, which was odd to her. An unusually large boa hung over his right shoulder. But what surprised Lellia the most was his strikingly stunning golden eyes. She had only seen mortal animals with yellow eyes before.

Lellia glared at the newcomer and turned to face him, standing defiantly. "Who are you and do you realize you are standing in the Fire lands?" She demanded hotly to the stranger.

"Fire lands? The southern lands belong to the cat demon clan."

"They rule here no longer. Now the fire demons rule these lands."

The man looked down at the ground in contemplation. Lellia was losing her patience with the stranger.

"I asked you a question: Who are you?"

The stranger looked up. "And why should I give you an answer, onna?"

"Considering that these are my father's lands, you are required to give me a name, in the least." Lellia stated boldly.

The stranger merely huffed and turned away. Lellia narrowed her eyes and pulled her sword from the belt at her side. The sound of the metal scraping against the hard leather caused the man to stop and glance back over his shoulder.

Lellia held the sword in front of her with one hand, pointing it in the stranger's direction. "I warn you now, my life has been dedicated to destroying men like you- no manners whatsoever for the female race."

Turning completely around, the man stared down the demoness in an attempt to throw her off guard. His golden eyes locked with her crimson ones.

Lellia's face remained, for the most part, stoic, except for her eyes with burned with a strong dislike for this stuck-up demon.

The stranger raised and eye brow as he looked down at the demoness. "I am Sesshoumaru-sama of the Western Lands." He finally remarked haughtily.

Lellia did not move from her spot as she drew her head up. She did not bow nor give any inclination that she gave any certain respect.

Lord Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed as the time passed slowly between them. "And who do you think you are that you should show no respect to me." His tone of voice showed this was not a polite question, but a most certain demand.

Lellia's eyes widened in offense at his own lack of disrespect and raised her chin up in authority. "You have no right to speak to someone so high above your own rank. I rule here in the southern lands and I rule across the sea as well. With your lack of respect for me, I feel you are not worthy of knowing my title. I wish you no good day, Sesshoumaru, for you deserve no such."

Lellia spun on her heel, her outfit swirling gracefully around her arms and legs. She knew no male would look away from her if her choice of clothing had done such at any other occasion. But she did not look back for his reaction. Lellia went to Creperum and mounted, not bothering to look at the expression on Lord Sesshoumaru's face.

Urging her mount into a gallop, Lellia raced back to the new palace.

She did not bother to stop at the stable to leave Creperum there, but instead raced her horse straight through the main hallways of the palace and into the throne room.

Her father sat on the dais at the back center of the large hall with four different elders surrounding the large throne in the center of the dais. Lord Kais looked up in surprise as the great doors to the hall were thrown open and his daughter galloped through- fury and disgust written over her face.

"Father!" Lellia's voice was commanding and irate as she reigned Creperum in before the dais. Creperum reared up on his hind legs as Lellia pulled on the reins, showing his distress at his mistress's anger.

"Lellia, what is it? Is something wrong?" The elders scattered in fear of the large warhorse as he reared, but Lord Kais stood up from the throne and faced the two.

"Who is this Lord Sesshoumaru of the Western Lands? Why does he show me such disrespect?"

Lord Kais frowned and scoffed. "Lord Sesshoumaru? He is a very high ranking lord; he has shown nothing but respect to all the other lords of this land. Where did you happen upon meeting him?"

"In the forest to the West, is that not still our lands?" Lellia dismounted Creperum as he came down, gathering her layers of silken skirts to join her father on the dais. "He refused to show me proper respect as a Princess! I demand-"

"Lellia!" Lord Kais drew up his full height to look down on his daughter. "Here you are no longer a princess- you are a high lord's first daughter and no more."

Lellia allowed her emotional mask to slip to show her insulted expression. "But-"

"No, back in Egypt you were known from your mother, but she is not here and was not known here. You are not a princess anymore, Lellia. You are a lady."

Lellia's stricken face turned away from her father as though she'd been slapped. Lord Kais turned away and walked down to the main floor.

He had taken no more than ten steps when he stopped and turned back to Lellia. "Accept this, daughter. There is no other option for you now." And with that he exited the throne hall.

Lellia's offended expression turned to rage at her father's final words. _How dare he! How... He cannot..._

She clenched her fists before throwing off her cloak onto the floor before the dais. Creperum skittered out of the way and threw a reproving look at the demoness.

Lellia frowned at him. "Oh, don't look at me like that." She collapsed in the throne, ignoring as her skirts lay in a jumbled mess around her lap. "Why is it when I finally get respect from those at home for being my mother's daughter, I am suddenly kicked back down to where I started- close to nothing?"

Creperum huffed and bobbed his head.

Lellia looked depressingly at the warhorse. "Alright, alright. Not close to nothing... Just a hell of a lot lower."

Creperum stepped up onto the dais and lowered himself at the feet of his mistress, resting his large head in her lap.

Lellia let her hand drift to the horse's head to brush his forelock from his eyes. "Creperum, what are we going to do about this man I call 'father'?"


End file.
